A mini-America, frozen in time, is 'comfort food for the soul'
The village of Fairfield teems with life. Yet the ballplayers, canoeists and construction workers have been frozen in place for more than half a century.
America in miniature, the sprawling nano-village was the lifelong oeuvre of Laurence Gieringer, who began building models as a boy in Reading. He added on and on, until the village was big enough to fill nearly 8,000 square feet in a building in Shartlesville, Berks County. It opened in 1953 as Roadside America, “The World’s Largest Miniature Village!”
And today, although fewer cars may fill the parking lot, the town of Fairfield stands open to visitors just as Gieringer left it when he died in 1963.
“I don’t change,” said Dolores Heinsohn, the 69-year-old granddaughter of Gieringer who keeps Roadside America running today. “That’s the key to me.”
And Roadside America’s consistency is a draw for visitors. “They know when they come back they’re not going to be disappointed and they know it’s not going to change,” she said. “I say it’s comfort food for the soul.”
From cast-metal carriage wheels to zippy trains to architecturally true bridges, the miniature village is a wonder of artistry: every person, car and building intentionally positioned and no detail left untended. A blue sign hangs across the front door: “Who enters here will be taken by surprises — be prepared to see more than you expect!”
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/a-mini-america-frozen-in-time-is-comfort-food-for-the-soul-20170703.html?photo_16
There's is a lot of back story that is not in the article (basically the whole thing was put together by one person). If you're on that stretch of I-78 between Harrisburg and Allentown try and make a quick stop, it's worth it. Hopefully they can keep this thing open for a bit longer. An added bonus is hearing Kate Smith singing God Bless America at the "Night Pageant" (has much meaning for Flyers fans).
= new reply since forum marked as read
